1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to multi-hub connectivity in a system of collaborative planning.
2. Related Art
Supply chain management systems frequently require many different levels of connectivity. For example, suppliers must be able to communicate with manufacturers, manufacturers with suppliers, buyers with sellers, sellers with buyers, and so forth. In many instances, these connections require the synchronization of information and management of exceptions so as to provide information that will be relevant to a particular transaction.
A first problem associated with processing information in a system for supply chain management arises when trading partners and collaborators use different standards when placing orders or creating lists of anticipated needs. These standards may refer to a number of products (for example, 12 gross, 12 dozen or 144) or to a characteristic of the product (for example, 120 millifarads or 0.12 farads). The lack of a specific set of standards makes it difficult or impossible to negotiate electronically if the parties use different standards.
A second problem associated with processing information in a system for supply chain management arises when trading partners and collaborators create demand lists of products or services they desire using different supply chain management tools such as those provided by Manugistics, i2 and others. It is difficult to evaluate information on a demand list, especially with respect to other demand lists, if the lists were created with different tools.
A third problem associated with processing information in a system for supply chain management arises when different entities that share a common supplier have distinctly different processes with respect to placing orders or soliciting bids. It is difficult to take advantage of economies of scale when various entities use different business processes to conduct business with a common supplier.
A fourth problem involves scalability and recovery from errors. The hub and spoke model is not readily scalable. In addition to this problem, a system that relies upon a single centralized hub is vulnerable to loss of business if the hub become temporarily unavailable. Failure is problematic when there is only a single, centralized hub.